This week, two special film screenings were held to raise awareness and funds for the Natalie Miller Fellowship. Around 150 people attended a screening of Great Expectations in Sydney on Wednesday 6 March at Hoyts Entertainment Quarter. Claudia Karvan, Patron of the NMF, stated “There is a dearth of female leaders in this sector of the industry. We have successful practitioners, and a strong female voice within the public funding bodies but Natalie Miller is still a bit of a lone wolf in the distribution and exhibition quarter and she’s perplexed.” Claudia went on to introduce Rachel Okine, the inaugural recipient of the Natalie Miller Fellowship in 2012. Claudia’s full speech can be read below.
In Melbourne, approx 140 guests attended the screening on Tuesday 5th March at Hoyts Victoria Gardens with special guests Natalie Miller OAM, OA, and Carol Schwartz AM. Carol, a leading business identity, presented a keynote speech on the topic of women and leadership and called for greater representation of women in executive and board management positions across industry. She also provided a very warm and well received introduction to Natalie Miller.
Our special thanks to Hoyts and to Universal Pictures for donating the film and the venue in support of our fundraising efforts.
Claudia Karvan’s speech;
” I recently sat on a panel connected to the Mardi Gras called Women Say Something, it was a bit like the What Women Want forums, lots of fun and a good talk fest. The most pertinent point of the night though was made by Clover Moore in her keynote address. She said that it’s all well and good for women to say something but they must also do something and this is why I was happy to lend my support to this fellowship because it is doing something. In fact, I think it is also going one step further and it is asking women to LEAD something. The fellowship rewards and encourages initiative, entrepreneurship and excellence in ambitious women in the screen business sector. There is a dearth of female leaders in this sector of the industry. We have successful practitioners, and a strong female voice within the public funding bodies but Natalie Miller is still a bit of a lone wolf in the distribution and exhibition quarter and she’s perplexed.
Natalie Miller, for those of you who don’t know her, is a pioneer and a one-off. She ran the quality art house cinema, The Longford, on Toorak Rd in Melbourne for 17 years, she has a distribution and production company called Sharmill film, which is the first such company to be established and run by a woman, and of course she co-founded the very popular Cinema Nova in Lygon St Melbourne. She has been the solitary woman on too many boards for too long and she believes we need to encourage more leaders to define and contribute to exhibition and distribution in this country. A culture to provide mentorship is required and that is what the Natalie Miller fellowship aims to address.
The first recipient is with us tonight, Rachael Okine. She works with Hopscotch and is going to use her fellowship funds to travel to Boston and participate in a women’s leadership course. Thanks to your support for this fundraising event and others around the country we hope to raise the fund to $20,000 next year. Please spread the word and look out for the submission opportunity later in the year. Thank you.”
Keynote Speaker: Carol Schwartz AM
Carol Schwartz is one of Australia’s leading business identities. Carol has extensive experience in the arts, property, community organisations and has been a director on a large number of public company and government boards.
Carol has recently been appointed as the Chair of Creative Partnerships Australia, the single agency replacing the Australia Business Arts Foundation and the Artsupport program of the Australia Council. Carol is also the immediate Past President of the Melbourne International Arts Festival where she served from 2005-2009.
Carol is passionate about gender diversity in leadership positions across all sectors in Australia. She is currently the Founding Chair of the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia; advisor to the Minister for the Status of Women, Julie Collins regarding the new Workplace Gender Equality Act; is a member of Harvard Kennedy Women’s Leadership Board and she is also the Co- Chair in Australia for Women Corporate Directors. Until recently Carol was Deputy Chair of the Australian Women Donors Network.
You can read Carol’s speech Carol Schwartz AM – Keynote Speaker – https://nataliemillerfellowship.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Carol-Schwartz-speech.pdf